


Once Familiar

by mnee



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Complete, Fluff, Humor, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Making Up, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Oneshot, Post-Break Up, Reconciliation, Romance, Second Chances, the boys have learned how to communicate, therapy for everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:40:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29220375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mnee/pseuds/mnee
Summary: After a volatile secret relationship, Sasuke and Naruto reconnect for the first time in six years.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 9
Kudos: 87





	Once Familiar

“Holy shit, is that– look, is that _Sasuke?_ ”

Naruto’s head jerked up from the text he’d been typing to follow Sakura’s gaze across the aisle– fuck, it _was_ him, sitting several rows ahead next to a guy in a green tux. He was taller, fitter, and his hair was longer, but that profile was unmistakable– he’d admired it for the better part of his childhood, after all. 

“...he hated Kiba, I don’t get it…”

“Yeah,” Naruto breathed, not hearing a word she’d said. A minute later, the music changed and everyone’s attention moved to the back of the aisle, and Sasuke– Sasuke’s eyes locked onto Naruto’s as he turned around, widening only briefly in surprise before regarding him with that familiar piercing look that seemed to bore into his very soul, laying all of his wants, needs, shortcomings bare. And even five, no, _six_ years later, Naruto’s pulse quickened just like it did back then, his breathing reduced to short, irregular bursts that made it impossible to think clearly.

“That dress is amazing, oh my god, she’s _so_ beautiful...”

Naruto blinked, registering the white-cloaked figure gliding past their row for a mere second before he looked back to Sasuke, but the other man had already turned to face the altar. So Naruto spent the remainder of the ceremony staring at the back of his head, wondering if that jet black hair still felt just as soft, still smelled just as sweet, still splayed out the same way when laid beneath him–

A round of applause startled him back to the present. He mechanically stood with everyone else, glancing down at the paper cone of rose petals Sakura shoved into his hand in confusion. Then he remembered he was, in fact, at a wedding. His _friend’s_ wedding, for fuck’s sake, and he forced himself to pay attention as the newlyweds strode down the aisle, whistling and cheering and tossing his rose petals once they were close enough for them to reach. And as soon as they walked past, his eyes met Sasuke’s again, and he was sucked back into their vortex until Sakura punched him in the arm. 

_“Ow_ , what the fuck–”

“Come on _,_ cocktail hour is in the tent. You can keep staring _after_ we get drinks.”

“I’m not– staring at who? Fuck off,” he grumbled, rubbing his abused flesh as he followed her across the grounds. The ceremony had taken place outdoors at the Hyuuga family’s expansive estate. It was a large affair with at least a couple hundred guests. Kiba and Hinata would’ve been content with something small, but they’d been happy to let her father invite the entire massive Hyuuga clan as well as dozens of business contacts. It probably helped that he had gifted them an incredibly luxurious honeymoon on a private island in the Maldives (which Naruto was only a tiny bit jealous about).

Sakura rolled her eyes. “Do you think that guy is his date?” She nodded toward Sasuke and the man in the green tux. The two men were already a few yards ahead of them. 

“How would I know?" He shoved his hands into his pockets and tried not to look too annoyed at the suggestion. He’d yet to get a good look at Green Tux Guy’s face, but he had short black hair styled in some kind of trendy modern bowl cut. He certainly stood out and if their own relationship was anything to go on, Sasuke was attracted to that sort of thing. He chewed on his lip bitterly, one of his hands unconsciously coming back up to rub the chain necklace that was hidden beneath the fabric of his shirt.

“Just speculating. If only you’d come out sooner,” she sighed airily. “He was totally in love with you.”

Naruto kept his eyes on the ground. “What makes you say that?”

“Uh, it was obvious to anyone with half a brain, Naruto. Well, I guess that explains why you didn’t know…”

He shoved her shoulder playfully, though his smile was empty. “Jealous, are we?”

“Eh. I gave up on converting him to pussy when we were 14.”

“A little louder, I don’t think that granny over there heard you.”

“Aww, Sasuke turns you into a prude. How cute.”

“Seriously, shut up or I’m abandoning your ass.” 

Sakura laughed and linked her arm through his, leading them to one of the _two_ full bars inside the tent as they entered. “C’mon, let’s get you some booze so you loosen the fuck up.”

“You’re really gonna take advantage of this open bar, aren’t you?”

“ _Obviously._ ” 

“Don’t expect me to hold your hair back later.”

“Why d’you think I went with an updo, babe?” 

They both laughed at that. Soon enough, they had drinks in hand and after scouring the tent, Sakura dragged him toward a tall table near the opposite side. Naruto broke out in a sweat as he realized she was headed straight for Sasuke, who was hunched over the table with a glass of scotch in hand. He looked… Naruto couldn’t think of words to sufficiently describe how inhumanly gorgeous he was. He wore a standard black suit, but it was impeccably tailored, and he’d forgone a tie in favor of leaving the top two buttons of his navy dress shirt undone. The sight of his collarbones alone was enough to make Naruto’s mouth run dry. 

“Sasuke! God, I couldn’t believe it when I saw you!” She leaned forward to kiss his cheek, then turned to Green Tux Guy, who'd been standing at his side. “Is this your boyfriend?”

“Oh, absolutely not!” Green Tux Guy blushed as he looked at Sakura. To be fair, she did look incredible. She wore an off the shoulder mint green dress with a sweetheart neckline and a high slit that showed off one of her legs, and her pale pink hair was in some kind of intricate wraparound braid dotted with emerald jewels. “I’m Lee and I’m very much attracted to beautiful women like yourself, Miss…?”

“Sakura.” Naruto noted the playful way she curled her tongue around her cocktail straw while taking another sip of her negroni. “How do you two know each other, then?”

“We train at the same dojang for taekwondo. Hinata’s cousin Neji too, that’s why we– he invited us. Neji’s my best friend, so I’ve known the family for a long time.” 

“Ah, we were wondering why you came when you hated Kiba,” Sakura directed to Sasuke with a laugh. “Naruto, didn’t you go out with Neji for a while?”

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck as Sasuke’s gaze finally moved to him, the intensity in those near-black irises sending a wave of goosebumps across his skin. “It wasn’t– it was just a few dates, we didn’t really stay in touch.”

“Wait, you’re Naruto? _The_ Naruto?”

“Um–” Naruto’s eyes darted between Lee and Sasuke, the latter giving no indication that he knew what Lee was referring to. “Yes?”

“I've heard all about how poor Hinata was obsessed with you for years!”

“Oh god, yes, it was terrible,” Sakura giggled. “She could barely even string two words together with him around.”

“Unrequited love,” Lee sighed wistfully. “And yet, look where she is now! True love always prevails, don’t you think?” His eyes sparkled, expression so earnest it was almost a little unsettling.

“I don’t believe in true love,” she countered with a smirk, giving her drink a stir. “What about you, Sasuke?”

All eyes moved to Sasuke, who had yet to actually speak thus far. His gaze lingered on Naruto before flickering down to his drink. “It exists.” He glanced back up at Sakura’s shocked gasp. “It doesn’t always prevail, though.”

Naruto tightened his grip on his bottle of beer, heart clenching painfully in his chest. Did that mean Sasuke still…?

“Don't say that, my friend.” Lee nudged him with his shoulder. “Of course it does, as long as both people are willing to fight for it.”

“Nah,” Sakura interrupted. “Sometimes you gotta know when to give up. There are a million factors that go into a relationship and sometimes love isn’t enough regardless of how much you want it to be.”

“That’s not– that’s just an excuse, though,” Naruto said slowly. He cleared his throat as everyone looked at him, running his free hand through his hair. “A lot of the time, I mean. People– sometimes they don’t want to do the work. That doesn’t mean love isn’t enough, it’s our own selfishness, or fear, or whatever not _letting_ it be enough.”

“Semantics,” Sakura scoffed, draining the rest of her glass. 

“So many cynics,” Lee lamented. “Perhaps you just haven’t met the right person to make you believe yet.” He grinned brilliantly and motioned to her empty cup. “Another drink?”

“Sure.” Sakura gave the other two a wink and followed Lee to the bar.

Naruto watched them leave, biting his lip as he glanced back at Sasuke. “Did you see hearts in his eyes or was it just me?”

Sasuke’s lips twitched and Naruto smiled, shifting his weight and looking at a spot on the ground as he attempted to collect himself. He was alone with Sasuke for the first time in six years. Well, there were tons of people in the tent with them, but they were _relatively_ alone at their little table–

“I take it you’re out now, then?”

His eyes shot back up. Sasuke was wearing his customary stoic mask, but he heard the edge to his voice; he felt the accusatory tone searing into his skin like a white-hot blade.

“Yeah.” 

Naruto swallowed, determined not to be a coward _again,_ determined to accept all of the hurt and anger he deserved _._ There was so much he’d wanted to say for years, he didn’t know where to start, and his mouth just kept opening and closing until he finally just said the first thing that came out. “I’m sorry about the– all of the, um, emails. From… after. It was– I was selfish,” he let out a sharp, hollow laugh, “as usual, huh?”

Sasuke exhaled, tongue wetting his lips as if to speak, but he remained silent.

Naruto searched his face, desperately trying to convey all of the feelings he was struggling to vocalize. “And that’s not– I’m not just saying that for myself. Nothing– no apology would make me feel better about what I– the way I treated you.” He took a deep breath. “You know, I’m– I teach kindergarten. Who would’ve thought, me a teacher?” He gave another half-hearted laugh, his fingers nervously mussing his hair again. “It’s been better than any kind of therapy, really, in realizing how fucked up I was as a kid.” 

“We were both fucked up.”

“Yeah, yet you gave me everything while I only hurt you. I– fuck,” he could see the facade cracking and he wanted to reach out and touch him so badly, “I hurt you and you were the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Sasuke sighed, setting his glass on the table and running his hand over his face. “Naruto…”

“I know, you must– you _should_ hate me. I would. I–”

“I don’t.” Sasuke cut him off with a shaky breath. “I wanted to. I tried to, for a long time. But now… I understand.”

“Y–you do?”

“You’re not a selfish person, Naruto. We were kids and you were… scared.”

“I was,” Naruto agreed. His heart was racing and the words came thundering out before he could stop to think. “I was always the foster kid, the orphan, the troublemaker with anger issues, and then people finally acknowledged me and I was so scared to lose that and– and I should’ve been scared about losing _you_ , I took you for granted, I…” He ducked his head as he dabbed away a couple of tears. 

“So,” he heard Sakura’s voice approaching again and straightened up, plastering on a smile. “Why the fuck did you drop off the face of the planet after graduation, asshole?”

Sasuke raised his glass to take a sip, head bent so that his long bangs obscured his face. “I needed a fresh start. Clean breaks and all that.”

“Gee, glad our decade of friendship meant so much to you.” Sakura’s voice was teasing, but Naruto knew she had been hurt when Sasuke cut everyone off. She didn’t know that it was all his fault…

“Did you– are you still in school?” Naruto tried to change the subject, which Sasuke appeared grateful for, his shoulders relaxing as he continued to stare at the table. 

“I’m working on my doctorate now.”

“He and Neji are competing for the smartest-sounding job title,” Lee joked. “Rocket scientist versus brain surgeon.”

“Geophysics is _not–_ ”

“Close enough,” Lee waved his hand dismissively and Sasuke shook his head as Sakura and Naruto laughed.

“So you went for it.” Naruto grinned, so full of relief he could cry again. He’d been terrified Sasuke would resign himself to a lifetime of unhappiness and that would be his fault, too. “How did Fu– your dad– take it?”

Sasuke shrugged. "I think he realized he didn't want a queer running the business anyway.” He swirled his drink and took another sip. “Can’t have something pesky like diversity and inclusion corrupting such a prestigious company.”

“So he’s still a dick,” Naruto deadpanned with a nod, feeling his cheeks flush when Sasuke flashed him one of his rare genuine smiles.

“Did Naruto tell you he’s a kindergarten teacher? On the one hand, it’s alarming that he’s responsible for a bunch of little kids–” Sakura spun away as Naruto tried to swat her, “–on the other, who better to understand them than someone who’s the same mental age?” 

Naruto pouted and took a pull from his beer. “I’ll remember that next time you ask me to help you study.”

“It does seem like a perfect job for him,” Sasuke mused, drawing up to his full height as he settled into the comfortable pastime of poking fun at Naruto. “Getting paid to make messes and yell at people–”

“I don’t yell!” 

“Said _while yelling._ ”

“ _Well_ you’re a grown ass adult, not a kid. And I have to clean up the messes we make too, it’s not all fun and games.” He petulantly stuck out his tongue. “I love it, though. Kids are cool as hell.”

“And then they grow up and become depressed capitalist puppets with social anxiety like the rest of us.”

“Still a ray of sunshine, Sasuke,” Sakura snorted.

“I don’t have social anxiety!” Lee piped up, desperate for some way back into the conversation. 

“Unfortunately,” Sasuke muttered, and it was Naruto’s turn to snort with laughter. 

Naruto’s heart skipped a beat as their eyes met, the faintest hint of pink creeping along Sasuke’s pale cheekbones. When his eyes fell back to his drink, Sakura discreetly elbowed Naruto’s side and lifted her brows. The blond gave an imperceptible shake of his head, chewing the inside of his cheek to stop himself from grinning. He couldn’t believe how natural this felt, how easily he’d fallen into that warm, cosy camaraderie despite years apart. He couldn’t believe Sasuke was here at all, that he didn’t hate him, that he was _smiling_ at him–

“So, Sasuke,” Sakura tilted her head casually. “Are you seeing anyone?”

Shit. Naruto held his breath.

“No.”

And exhale…

“Really? So we’re all single!” She shot Naruto a pointed glance, then her eyes widened as her gaze traveled over his shoulder. “Ino! Over here!” When the other woman came closer, she gestured excitedly to Sasuke. “Look who’s here!”

“Sasuke?!” Ino gaped in disbelief. “Back from the dead, fuckface?”

“These ladies have quite the colorful language,” Lee remarked to Naruto, looking more awestruck than offended.

“Something like that,” Sasuke responded in his usual monotone. 

“Where’s Sai?” Sakura squeezed her best friend into a hug.

“Inojin was going nuts with my parents at the hotel, so he went to try to get him to sleep. Hopefully he can come back for the reception.”

“Oh! You have to try this drink Lee– oh, this is Lee– told me about, come on–” She started to steer Ino away, waving at Lee expectantly until he obediently followed.

Naruto set his now-empty bottle on the table and slipped his hands into his pockets. “I can create a distraction if you want to run away,” he offered, cocking a grin.

“That’s okay,” Sasuke puffed out a soft laugh, “I knew what I was getting into.”

For the first time, Naruto considered that Sasuke must’ve known (hoped?) he would be at the wedding. He didn’t know how to feel about that.

“Right.” He idly tapped the toe of his shoe against a table leg. “You, um, you look good. Have– have you been good?”

“I’ve been… busy.” Sasuke pushed his bangs aside, tucking the longest locks behind an ear. “I–”

“I like your hair that length,” Naruto blurted, his face instantly turning red. “Sorry, what were you–?”

Sasuke shook his head, another chuckle escaping those flawless petal pink lips. “Just that I was surprised you weren’t a groomsman.”

“I was, but then, um, Jiraiya was in the hospital and he– I didn’t know if I’d be able to make it. He’s okay,” he added quickly as Sasuke frowned in worry, “it was just a lot to have going on.” 

“I’m sorry.” His warm, steady gaze made Naruto’s skin tingle. “I’m glad you put yourself first, though.”

“Yeah." He smiled and scratched the side of his nose. “Old me would’ve insisted on doing it and then I’d burn myself out and have a panic attack and–”

“And let everyone else think you were perfectly fine,” Sasuke nodded with a knowing smirk. “You’ve grown.”

“Like I said, teaching is therapy. Hard to teach five year olds to use their words and regulate their emotions in a healthy way if I don’t do that myself.”

Sasuke let his arms rest on the table, leaning forward just slightly. Even his hands were sexy as fuck. Three of his long, slender fingers sported minimal matte black rings, his nails manicured and shining with a clear glossy polish. Naruto could tell that his skin would be soft and smooth. “Hm. Any instigators in your class?”

“Oh yeah. This one kid– man, at the beginning of the year, he made me cry.” Naruto's grin melted into a reminiscent smile. “But we were definitely bros by the end. I try not to play favorites, but– there’s a quote– ‘the kids who need the most love will ask for it in the most unloving ways’. It really hits home, y’know?” He breathed out, glancing down as the intensity of Sasuke’s gaze became too much. “So you’re– you moved back for grad school?”

“Yeah. A year ago.” His fingers smoothed over the white tablecloth. “I… wanted to reach out for a long time. I just– I didn’t know how.” He released a deep breath as if this admission took incredible effort. Which for Sasuke, it likely did.

“Oh.” God, his fucking heart might as well burst out now.

“I didn’t know you knew Neji, though.”

Naruto cringed. “We met a couple of years ago when Hinata and Kiba first got engaged. We didn’t– I mean, nothing happened. Or anything. Like… that.” He coughed, digging his nails into his palms before he kept talking.

“It’s not like I didn’t expect you to have a life for the past six years, Naruto.” 

Still, he thought he saw a tiny flicker of relief cross Sasuke’s face. 

“Yeah, well…” He wanted to say that no one he met could ever even _begin_ to come close to Sasuke. He wanted to say that letting him go was the biggest regret of his life. He wanted to say that he still loved him, and he was pretty sure he always would. He wanted to say so much, but he didn’t want to risk ruining everything again. And most of all, he didn’t think he deserved to feel so… hopeful. 

“Guys!” Sakura came barreling toward them. Behind her, Ino and Lee appeared to be play-sparring while laughing hysterically. “They just said we can start going inside!”

“Oh– ah, okay.” He and Sasuke both moved to follow as the trio headed toward the house. The sun was just beginning to set, the sky painted with striking bands of pink and purple. The beautiful sight did little to distract him from the fact that Sasuke was now walking next to him, their bodies only inches apart. He was beginning to question whether his heart would survive the night.

As it turned out, the five of them plus Sai were all at the same table. The rest of their schoolmates were in the bridal party and would be seated at the head table. Naruto shrugged off his blazer and hung it off the back of his chair, feeling Sasuke’s eyes on him as he did so.

“Aren’t you rather buff for a primary school teacher?”

Naruto spluttered, his ears becoming scarlet as he dropped into his seat. Sasuke sat beside him, smirking. “Wha– I– uh–”

“Don’t hurt yourself.” 

“Shut up!” Sure, he’d added some bulk since high school and was normally quite proud of his physique, but having Sasuke comment on it was putting dangerous thoughts in his head.

“It was only an observation.” 

“Well I’ve _observed_ you too, looking all…” His hands waved over Sasuke’s entire body vaguely.

“Looking all…?” The other man prompted, raising a sculpted brow and oozing mirth.

“You know how,” Naruto huffed, scooting his chair further under the table. 

Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest, cradling his chin in one hand. “I really don’t.”

Naruto answered with a glare. “You’re fully aware of how hot you are, so shut up.”

He didn’t hear Sasuke’s reply, their banter interrupted by the DJ’s voice booming through the speakers to introduce the wedding party. The reception carried on and Sai arrived in time for dinner. After immediately trying to rile Sasuke and Naruto up, he realized Lee was a far easier target, especially the more he inebriated he became. Sakura also seemed surprisingly taken with Lee, or maybe she was just trying to get laid. If he’d managed to befriend Sasuke, he had to be a decent enough guy, so Naruto wasn’t worried. Plus, Sakura could handle herself either way.

During dessert, Kiba and Hinata stopped at their table to greet everyone and Naruto was stunned by how civil Kiba and Sasuke were. Then again, perhaps they’d already met over the past year if Sasuke had become close to Neji. Regardless, the interaction further fueled that flame of hope he’d been trying to ignore. It was bizarre how different things were, how different _they_ were, while his feelings remained so much the same.

Ino and Sakura were first to the dance floor when it opened up, Lee (happily) and Sai (unhappily) trailing behind. Naruto watched them for a while, laughing as the rest of their friends joined in and led a goofy line dance that gradually inspired more people to get up and hit the floor too.

“You should join them,” Sasuke commented. “Looks right up your alley.”

“I’m good.” Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s untouched slice of cake before a server cleared it away, shoveling a sizable piece into his mouth. He raised a brow as Sasuke watched him with a mixture of amusement and… something else. Smirking, he scooped a dollop of the white frosting onto his fork and languidly licked it off. When he finished, Sasuke’s eyes were slightly glazed over. “Enjoying the show?”

Sasuke effortlessly regained his composure. “Just marveling at the way you still stuff your face as if you haven’t had food in weeks.”

“I seem to remember _you_ liking to stuff my face.”

Sasuke’s teeth sunk into his lip as he bit back a grin. “Is that an invitation?” 

Naruto pushed a crumb from the side of his mouth in with his thumb, giving the digit a light suck before letting his hand drop away. "Do you want it to be?"

Sasuke hesitated for a second too long and Naruto ruffled his hair, laughing sheepishly to ease the tension. "Consider that payback for earlier. Can I have a dance, though?" 

"You know I don't dance."

"C'mon, just one song! You can't be that bad."

"People will be watching." 

Naruto's impish grin slipped away, his voice becoming quiet and firm in response to the questioning look in Sasuke's eyes.

"I know." 

Sasuke heaved a dramatic sigh and got to his feet. “Fine.”

Already bouncing on his heels, Naruto pulled him to the dance floor before he could change his mind. He heard Ino and Sakura drunkenly whooping and calling their names from somewhere in the mass of people, but he ignored them. A new track had just begun, a highly danceable electropop hit that had Naruto’s body moving as if it had a mind of its own. Everyone seemed to press closer, a random arm or leg constantly brushing against him. Naruto snickered at Sasuke's obvious discomfort and reached out to put his hands on the raven's hips, exaggeratedly guiding him to move in sync with the music. 

"Relax," he called out, Sasuke's scowl only making his smile stretch wider. "What, you never went out clubbing in undergrad?"

Sasuke lurched forward when someone behind him accidentally fell back. His hands instinctively went up and landed on Naruto's chest while he recovered his footing, a dark blush spreading across his face as he yanked them back. Their eyes met and Naruto’s breath caught, the heat between them increasing tenfold. Slowly, Sasuke let his hands settle at Naruto's waist and a corner of his mouth quirked upward.

"Only when I was completely wasted."

"Oh, I'd kill to see that." 

Sasuke laughed – his first truly uninhibited laugh all evening – and Naruto moved closer without thinking, their chests all but touching. The multicolor lights dancing across Sasuke's milky white skin were mesmerizing and he couldn't look away, drunk on this close up view after only having memories and photos to go on for years. He'd forgotten just how thick those dark eyelashes were; he'd forgotten the way those hooded eyes made desire burn through his body like wildfire. His heart leapt into his throat when Sasuke's head dipped down so that his mouth was at his ear.

"You're staring."

Naruto swallowed, feeling a bead of sweat drip down his temple. "Should I not?"

The hold on his waist tightened. "...You can."

Sasuke raised his head and took all of Naruto's oxygen with him. The world shrunk to just the two of them and everything suddenly felt overwhelming; _consuming_. His restraint began to evaporate as the heat in his body grew and he gripped Sasuke’s belt to bring their hips together. At some point, he’d stopped guiding and their bodies just seamlessly moved as one. Sasuke’s hands slid up his chest to his shoulders, then one hand cupped the back of his neck and fuck, they were so close, _too_ close, but he couldn’t move away. Their gaze never broke, Sasuke’s dark orbs an endless night pulling him in like a whirlpool that he never wanted to escape from. 

Eventually, a new song started with a transition that was just jarring enough to break the spell. He had no clue how long they’d danced, but it’d definitely been more than one song. He still felt like he was in a haze and as clarity returned, he felt increasingly more vulnerable and uneasy. Stepping away, he wiped his brow with the end of a sleeve before rolling them up to his elbows.

"I need water," he mumbled, stumbling back to their table. Sasuke followed and watched as he downed a glass.

“Are you okay?”

Naruto gave a reassuring smile. “Yeah, sorry. I, um– I’m going to get some fresh air.” He bit his lip. “If you want to come–?”

Sasuke studied him for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.” 

“Okay,” Naruto repeated, turning to walk through a set of French doors that led to a stone patio outside. Unlike the ballroom, the atmosphere here was tranquil. People were sipping digestifs and smoking cigars while they had intimate conversations. Relaxed jazz music played quietly from invisible speakers. Once the doors were shut, the exuberant noise from inside was inaudible. A portion of the patio was covered, with thin white curtains tied between pillars. As it opened up, globe lights were strung overhead, basking the area in warm amber light. 

Nice as it was, Naruto wanted to be alone. He started toward a pond he’d found on his way to the ceremony that was within view of the house but far enough away to be private. Sasuke wordlessly strolled alongside him. It was dark now, but the light from the patio and the full moon traveled enough for them to see. They walked in silence until Naruto removed a lighter from his pocket, as well as a joint he extracted from a metal tube. “D’you mind?”

Sasuke shook his head, so Naruto lit up, taking a drag just as they reached a bridge that crossed over the small body of water. He walked to the middle of the bridge and sat down, sliding his legs below the lowest railing to hang over the edge. Sasuke settled next to him, accepting the joint when Naruto offered it and taking a hit himself. “Nervous?”

“You always make me nervous,” Naruto said, his tone devoid of humor. He stared out across the water and combed his fingers through his hair, the roots damp with sweat.

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Ha.” Naruto swung his feet and watched the smoke billow through the humid air. “I was always afraid of fucking things up, and then I _did,_ and now I’m scared I’ll do it again.”

Sasuke traced along the grain of the wood railing with his fingertips. "As much as it pains me to admit it, I was hardly perfect, you know."

"You were totally perfect."

Sasuke ducked his head to hide his smile. "I wasn't. I wouldn't have let it go on for so long if my self-worth wasn't utter shit."

"Wow. Victim-blaming yourself. Nice." He winced when Sasuke flicked his forehead.

“I’m not. I didn’t think I deserved to be happy. Because Itachi…” He took another drag, closing his eyes. “Even if we were out… I would’ve found some way to sabotage it, to self-destruct. Some part of me _wanted_ to be hurt.”

Naruto absorbed this. Of course he’d known that Sasuke was battling his own demons, but he’d never really considered that they had an impact on their relationship. If anything, he hated himself even more for hurting Sasuke when he was already hurting so much. The fact that Sasuke believed he deserved that pain made him feel sick.

“You do deserve happiness, Sasuke. Itachi wouldn’t have wanted–”

Sasuke held up a hand to stop him. “I know that now. You’re not the only one who’s had therapy,” he added dryly. He passed the joint back and hung his arms over the rail, looking at the moon’s reflection in the water. “Point being, you can’t fuck something up that was fucked to begin with. So… don’t be scared.”

He spoke carefully, with a gentleness that made Naruto’s vision blur. The blond busied himself with taking a few more puffs and let the calm wash over his mind and body. Neither spoke again until the stick was spent. 

"This reminds me of when we used to sit at the dock." Naruto leaned back onto his hands, taking in the way the moonlight drenched Sasuke’s lithe figure in an unearthly glow. 

"Mm. The weed has improved, though."

"Yeah," he chuckled, shaking his head so that his hair fell over his face. He twisted some front pieces together into a sloppy braid.

“I missed this.”

Naruto clenched his bottom lip between his teeth, feeling those words seep into his skin and fill his body with warmth. “I missed you.” He looked at Sasuke until the other man met his gaze. “So much.”

Sasuke’s eyes roved over Naruto’s features, his expression soft yet guarded. “I never stopped…” He trailed off, but Naruto heard the rest of the sentence all the same. 

“Neither did I.” With a shuddering breath, he undid the top button of his shirt, then reached under it to tug out a golden chain. His fingers stopped around a simple sunburst pendant at the end. “I don’t think I’ve ever taken this off.”

Sasuke shifted closer and took the pendant into his own palm, the pad of his thumb rubbing over it almost reverently. 

“I still– I have yours too.” The silver moon Sasuke had pressed into his hand the day he’d told him it was over, to leave him alone, to never talk to him again... and Naruto didn’t go after him. 

“You kept it?” Sasuke let go of the necklace but didn’t move away. The heavy air surrounding them became even more dense, nearly suffocating, as if holding them in that moment in time.

“Of course I did,” he said with a breathless laugh. How could he have gotten rid of it? “I guess I– I never stopped hoping I might get to give it back.”

Sasuke’s hand moved ever so slowly to Naruto’s cheek, fingers tenderly brushing over the scars on his skin just like they often did all those years ago. Naruto’s eyes fell shut, savoring the touch. When they opened again, Sasuke was watching him with such affection his heart swelled so much it ached. 

They closed the space between them simultaneously, lips touching so softly they barely touched at all, yet it was still enough to see stars. It felt healing, it felt new, it felt free. It felt like he was being pieced back together again, better and stronger than before. 

Sasuke’s thumbs wiped away the tears on his tan cheeks, voice a wavering whisper. “Crybaby.”

“ _Jerk_.”

Like a solar eclipse, they aligned as one, tasting each other’s smiles. And with absolute certainty, they both knew it was not for the last time.


End file.
